Say Huà with Abigail

“If it’s worth doing, do it well”

Before,I would often find myself in a cycle of starting and stopping. The amount of times I have started learning a new language on Duolingo or other apps because it seemed fun at the time, only to grow bored and drop it again in a few weeks. After talking to friends, I’ve learned that I wasn’t the only one guilty of doing this.

When I decided to ‘lock in’, I had started by Googling what language to learn, but I didn’t actually start learning right away. I had decided that I would start learning a language; a few days later I chose Mandarin but didn’t start to learn anything until after a few weeks. Why, you ask?

I found myself asking that same question. Why?

I knew that I wanted to achieve my polyglot dreams and have a number of languages under my belt, but why did I want to learn this language? Before I started learning Mandarin, I began researching the language and of course the culture around it. In those few weeks, I developed the process that I have used, and probably will continue to use, for all my languages and anything else I want to take on.

Let me introduce you to what I like to call:

The Research Phase

Before diving headfirst into a new language, I have always spent time researching. I like to think of each language as a project I am taking on. When you learn a new language you learn the surrounding culture and history too. Understanding how and why language is expressed helps you to understand the culture better. All good projects start off with research; you need to know and understand what you are signing up for.

There are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. With there being so many, it’s best to have a process of eliminating a lot of them to make your decision easier.

I like to strip things back to the basics and ask myself the classic interrogative questions: Who, What, Where, Why and How. I like to first focus on the Who, What and Where, and once I have this figured out, it usually allows me to answer the Why. Once I have a why that I feel good about, then I move onto the How.

Who, What and Where

Below are a few examples to help you figure this all out. These are inspired by real-world language learners and the types of questions they’re Googling every day:

• What language should I learn based on my personality?
• Who speaks this language?
• What is the highest paid foreign language in the world?
• What language should I learn after English?
• Who speaks a similar language?
• Where do native speakers live? Or migrate to?
• What’s the most useful language to learn for the future?
• What foreign language is in demand in the world right now?
• Where is the best place to live right now?
• What foreign language is most useful for professionals?
• What language is easiest for English speakers to learn?
• Where is this language spoken?
• What is the most spoken language in the world by country?
• What are the best languages to learn for jobs in the UK? In Europe? The world?

I’ve also started looking at language families. Like I had mentioned previously, understanding the structure and history behind languages can help you decide what might come more naturally based on what you already know.

I’ve started reclaiming my French and am currently looking into studying Portuguese. Both of these languages are from the Romance language family, meaning that they both derive from vulgar (i.e spoken) Latin. So these languages will have similar structures and vocabulary. I’m hoping that learning one will help me learn the other.

Why

Not every language is going to fit your life, interests, or goals, and that’s okay. You kinda don’t want them to anyway. When you do find one or maybe a few that seem like they are a good fit, you have found your why.

Finding your why doesn’t have to be very deep. It can be as simple as: “I think it’s cool and I’ve looked into it and the culture and I still think it’s cool.” If you have found at least one that has met your criteria, you’re ready to move onto the next step: How.

How

At this stage, I have decided on a language to learn and now I have to figure out the hows. Here are a few I tend to consider:

• How will I learn? Textbooks? Articles? Apps? Podcasts?
• How far along do I want to be in 3 months? 6 months? A year?
• How much time will this take?
• How much time can I dedicate?

Once I have thought about the hows, I like to take a couple of days to think about the decision and also evaluate my current schedule before I start answering these final questions. When you can answer the above questions, you will have formed a plan on how to learn a language that should work for you. As this is completely tailored to your needs and circumstances, you should be able to make changes as you see fit. You can also use this process for any project you are thinking of starting, it doesn’t have to be used exclusively for learning a new language.

In Practice…

Here is a quick summary of how I am currently following this guide on how to learn Portuguese:

What: I am currently in the research phase of learning Portuguese.

Who and Where: As it was the language of a colonial and commercial empire, Portuguese is spoken all over the world. With over 200 million speakers, it is the 6th most spoken language in the world. It is the official language of over 8 nations and a lingua franca in a few more.

Why: It is the 2nd fastest-growing European language after English, and I like how it sounds. I plan on visiting both Portugal and Brazil in late 2026/early 2027. It would be cool if I could engage with the locals.

How: As it will be a challenge learning 3 languages simultaneously whilst also working full-time and studying part-time, I am taking this language nice and slow.

I do have a goal of being able to speak and understand basic Portuguese within the next 13 months. To contextualise this, I’m aiming to be around A2 on the CEFR. It’s estimated that around 160–200 hours are needed to reach the A2 level. Going with the average of 180 over the course of 13 months, I’ll need to spend around 14 hours a month to achieve this goal; 14 hours across 28–31 days is very doable. I’ve decided against big study blocks just a few times a month and instead have set up time for two weekly 2-hour sessions for Portuguese.

In an ideal world, this will get me to 16 hours a month, which should have me well within my goal. However, life isn’t ideal. I don’t expect to be able to make every session I have planned out and there will be days when those 2 hours may become just 1 — or be missed completely. By having more time allocated than “needed“, I hope that this will make up for times when the plan can’t be followed.

I have not yet finished the research phase, as I am still looking into what I’m going to use to support my study. I don’t want to get a tutor and actually don’t want to spend any money just yet. So I have been searching for free textbooks on the web, other blogs like mine that provide support, podcasts, and YouTube.

Once I have found some good resources, I’ll check back with a report on how I am getting on.